WJPA Sports

Defending WPIAL 5A girls champion Peters Township kept its playoff hopes alive with a crushing victory over Alert Gallatin. The Indians play Uniontown, then Bethel Park next week. Two wins put the Indians back in the post-season, something that seemed unlikely just a week ago. The Peters Township boys used 8-0 & 13-0 first-half runs to distance themselves from South Fayette. During the fourth quarter, Dylan Donovan became the all-time boys scoring leader at Peters Township, breaking a record that stood for 26 years. Donovan is just four points shy of 1,300 in his career. Ringgold improved its playoff chances with a one-point win at Baldwin. In 3A Section 3, McGuffey and Wash High moved into playoff spots with Friday wins. Charleroi locked up a 3A Section 4 berth, winning at Mt. Pleasant. Waynesburg clinched despite losing a one-point game at Southmoreland. The four teams with playoff berths in hand in 2A Section 3 play each other tonight (C-H @ B-C and J-M @ FtCh), while West Greene can clinch with a win at Burgettstown. Jeff-Morgan’s win keeps the Rockets within one game of league leader Chartiers-Houston. Avella topped Cornell Friday night and, paired with an Aquinas win over Beaver County Christian, clinched a playoff spot for the Eagles. Here’s the Washington/Greene section scoreboard for Friday/Saturday:

Girls
5A Peters Township 63, Albert Gallatin 16
3A McGuffey 40, Brownsville 33
2A-3 California 42, Carmichaels 12
1A West Greene 46, Clairton 27

Boys
6A Hempfield 68, Canon-McMillan 40
5A Peters Township 66, South Fayette 45 Watch/Listen Here
5A Ringgold 53, Baldwin 52
3A-3 McGuffey 52, Keystone Oaks 48
3A-3 Wash High 62, Sto-Rox 58
3A-4 Southmoreland 62, Waynesburg 61
3A-4 Charleroi 63, Mt. Pleasant 59
2A-1 Bentworth at Clairton, postponed
2A-1 Frazier 60, California 36
2A-3 Chartiers-Hosuton 58, Beth-Center 35
2A-3 Jeff-Morgan 52, Fort Cherry 42
2A-3 Burgettstown at West Greene
2A-3 Carmichaels 67, Mapletown 35
1A Avella 63, Cornell 49

Saturday
Girls 3A Seton-La Salle at Waynesburg
Boys 1A Summit at Avella

High school basketball teams look to restore some sense of normalcy with games across the WPIAL get back on schedule. Canon-McMillan girls clinched a 6A playoff spot with the win at Hempfield. Fort Cherry got 17 points from Gianna Bianchini, including five 3-pointers, as the Rangers blew out Burgettstown, taking a two-game lead with three to play. Waynesburg’s win at McGuffey puts the Raiders along in second place and clinches a playoff spot. Here’s the Washington/Greene section scoreboard for Thursday:

Girls
6A Canon-McMillan 59, Hempfield 41
4A Elizabeth-Forward 70, Ringgold 22
3A Wash High at Seton-La Salle, postponed to Feb. 3
3A Waynesburg 54, McGuffey 47
2A-2 Fort Cherry 52, Burgettstown 25, Watch/Listen Here
2A-3 Chartiers-Houston 56, Jeff-Morgan 19
2A-3 California 50, Bentworth 38
2A-3 Beth-Center 45, Carmichaels 32
1A Geibel Catholic 106, Mapletown 19
1A West Greene 37, Bishop Canevin 29
1A Clairton 51, Avella 35

Boys
2A Clairton 86, California 37

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Egor Chinakhov and Anthony Mantha scored on rushes in a 31-second span in Pittsburgh’s four-goal second period, helping the Penguins beat the Chicago Blackhawks 6-2 on Thursday night for their fifth straight victory. Connor Dewar scored twice, Ben Kindel and Ryan Shea added goals, and Arturs Silovs made 17 saves. Mantha, Shea and Noel Acciari each had two assists. The Penguins had been off since sweeping a four-game trip with a victory over Vancouver on Sunday, with forward Bryan Rust starting a three-game suspension for a check to Canucks forward Brock Boeser’s head. Connor Murphy and Connor Bedard scored for Chicago, and Soderblom stopped 38 shots in the first game of a back-to-back. The Blackhawks have lost four straight.

DETROIT (AP) — Patrick Kane is now the highest-scoring U.S.-born player in NHL history. Kane passed Mike Modano by recording his 1,375th point on Thursday night in the Detroit Red Wings’ game against the Washington Capitals. Kane reached the milestone a couple of months after turning 37. Modano was 40 when he scored a goal to register point No. 1,374. Kane has been one of the faces of American hockey since getting taken with the first pick in the 2007 draft by Chicago. He helped the Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup three times from 2010-15.

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Justin Rose is taking advantage of good golf on the easier North course at Torrey Pines. He was only in danger of bogey one time and made 10 birdies for a 62 in the Farmers Insurance Open. That gives him a one-shot lead over Justin Lower. But this day was mostly about the return from LIV Golf of Brooks Koepka. The five-time major champion didn’t make birdie until the last hole. But he had 15 pars on the tough South for a 73. Koepka said he was nervous about the reception he would get and was elated to hear support.